Denizli-style kebab uses only lamb, fat, and salt—no water, vegetables, or tomato paste. The lamb releases its own juices and cooks in them for hours. The deliberately low oven temperature keeps the meat from drying out and makes it tender enough to pull apart.
Cut the lamb shoulder into 4 cm cubes, trimming away sinew. Do not cut the pieces smaller; they may fall apart during the 3-hour cook. Cut the lamb tail fat into half-cm cubes.
Spread half of the lamb tail fat over the bottom of the clay pot. Add the meat, salt, black pepper, and bay leaf, then scatter the remaining fat over the top. As it melts, it will baste the meat. Do not add water, oil, or tomato paste.
Cover the clay pot and seal the gap between the lid and rim with a strip of wet dough or two layers of aluminum foil. If the pot has no lid, cover it tightly with two layers of foil.
Bake on the lower rack of an oven preheated to 160°C / 320°F for two and a half hours. The temperature is intentionally low: at 200°C / 390°F, muscle fibers contract and release their juices too early. At 160°C / 320°F, connective tissue slowly turns to gelatin, allowing the meat to tenderize in its own juices.
Remove the lid, raise the oven temperature to 190°C / 375°F, and roast for another 20–25 minutes. The kebab is ready when the top pieces are browned and a clear, dark layer of fat has collected in the pot. Press a piece with a fork; it should pull apart into strands without resistance.
Do not open the clay pot for the first three hours. Each time it is opened, steam escapes and reduces the only liquid available to cook the meat.
Güvecin ağzını hamurla kapattım, buhar hiç kaçmadı ve et üç saatte lif lif ayrıldı. Kuyruk yağını azaltanlar etin kurumasına hazır olsun. Kapağı açıp kızartma adımını son yirmi dakikaya bıraktım, et üstten renk alırken altta biriken suyun içinde nemli kaldı.
Hamurla mühürlemek geleneksel yöntem. Hamur yoksa ıslak bez ve folyo ikilisi de buharı tutuyor, yalnız folyoyu tepsinin kenarına iyice bastırın.
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